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J. REBEL. INFLATABLE BATHING GARMENT. APPLICATION FILED JULY 29. 1918.

Patented May '13, 1919.

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- w mwmmm JOEE" REBEL, 0F GLE'V ELAND, OHIO.

' INFLATABLE BATEINWGARMENT.

specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 13,1919.

Application filed July 29, 1918. Serial No. 247,136.

,ful Improvements in Inflatable Bathing.

Garments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of an inflatable bathing garment made of separate plies of woven fabric and sewed together to pro vide divisional air compartments in localized areas therein, and as constructed the garment is simple and may be readily in.- fiated by the wearer and secured upon and used by a person with comfort and convenience. f

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a front viewof the garment deflated, and Fig. 2 is a side view thereof inflated. Fig.1 3 is a cross section of the garment inflated, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view of one side portion of the garment, partially deflated.

The garment comprises a body portion 2 having a pair of shoulder straps 3, one of the straps having buttons and button holes to' permit the garment to be opened at the neck and slipped. on and removed. As shown, the garment also comprises .a pair of short breeches or trunks 4:. These parts may be made of finely-woven fabric and formed into a one-piece garment or the breeches may be a separate part and de tachably affixed to the waist or body portion 2 in any suitable way. Upon this body ply of fabric 2, I sew another ply or layer of fabric, therelry' making a garment of double thickness throughout. I may make the waist portion of double thickness and the yoke and breeches of single thickness,

but assuming the garment to be of twoply thickness throughout, 1 sew the plies together in such a manner that a number of air compartments are provided in the waist portion and in sewing them to ether I leave certain places open to provi e air communicating passages between the different compartments and. an inflating tube which is formed by an extension 5 at the front of the garment midway of the straps 3. The outer end of tube 5 has .a mouth nipple 6, with or without a valve, whereby the garment may be inflated within the limits defined by the stitching indicated by the lines 7, 10, 12 and 15. Thus, the stitching indicated by line 7 begins at the mouth nipple and extends down one side of the extension and'the front of the yoke and waist portion of the garment to a point relatively near the waist line of the garment, whence it re turns on parallel lines to a higher elevation approxin'lately opposite the bottom of the arm opening 8. Thence the stitching extends across the waist toward thearm opening and downwardly on inclined lines underneath the arm opening and continues upwardly at the side of the garment to the back of the garment. A V-shaped area 9 is thus provided underneath the arm hole which. is cut off from the air compartment and not capable of being inflated, and thestitching line 7 proceeds across the back of the garment to the other side where a similar ll-shaped area 9 is formed underneath the arm hole 8 at that side before the stitching continues across the front of the garment and upwardly to the mouth nipple 6 on lines which are a counterpart of the stitched line made in the first-instance. The

back of the garment may also be stitched on a median line as indicated at 10, Fig. 3, thereby subdividing the back on a vertical line in substantially the same way as the front part of the garment to produce separate air compartments adjacent each other between the yoke and waist line. The conception involves the production of 'a series of small pockets in the garment, and in furtherance of this idea, I stitch the outer ply or layer of fabric to the inner layer or ply on parallel lines 12 annularly about the garment excepting over a short space 13 immediately beneath the air tube 5. This space 13 serves as a communicating passage be tween the upper compartments and an am nular passage 14 made at the waist line of the garment by folding or doubling back the outer ply or layer inwardly at its bottom edge and stitching it entirely around the garment to the inner ply of fabric. In this way, the annular compartment 14 is closed ,completely at its bottom, but nevertheless has 0 en communication with thespace 13, are used to introduce a draw string 16 or an elastic band in the narrow space between the parallel stitched lines 12; However, the stitching extends around the openings at each side of space 13 so that the air is thus cut off from the draw string space and prevented from escaping at the open ings 15.

The air space within the garment is localized in definite areas, such as in the belt 11 and in theseveral pockets formed above the belt at the front and back of the gar- Inent, while the yoke and trunk portions of the garment are not inflatable and the space underneath the arm is also cut off from the air to permit freedom of movement of the arms when the garment is worn. The draw string 16 permits the garment to be drawn 'in and securedclosely to the body of the wearer to conform thereto, whereas if no draw strlng or its equivalent were used the garment would be unduly inflated, and difficult to slip on and off unless an objectionable loose fitting garment was provided. If the breeches are omitted I may also employ a draw string or elastic band within the stitched border 15 at the bottom side of the belt, substantially as indicated in Fig. 4:, and the garment may be made of any material suitable for the purpose. The cloth which I actually use is so closely woven that it has the property of being practically airtight after the garment is soaked in water,

and the garment may be immersed in water before it is put on or subsequently.

What I claim is:

1. An inflatable bathing garment comprising a body portion of fabric having an outer lining of fabric stitched thereto on irregular lines forming a plurality of air pockets at the front and back and waist thereof, and provided with an inflating tube formed from and stitched in the layers of fabric, the fabric being closely woven and adapted to be made substantially air-tight when immersed in water.

2. In an inflatable bathing garment, a waist portion made of double ply fabric stitched together on irregular lines above the waistline and on parallel lines annularly at the waist line to provide an annular air belt and a plurality of air pockets.

3. An inflatable bathing garment comprising ,separate plies of woven fabric stitched together to provide an air belt and a plurality of communicating air pockets between the layers of fabric, said belt and pockets being separated at the waist line of the garment by parallel stitches and aspace for a draw or fastening member.

Signed at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio, this 24th day of July, 1918.

JOHN REB El 

